The clouds broke up, the first patches of blue appeared, and within no time at all, the sky had cleared and the heat became total, as if it were inside them, a part of them. They became deaf to the sounds of the jungle now and floated on in a muted silence, and whenever someone spoke, a couple of the others would jump in shock at the sudden noise.

A couple of hours in, Shen shared some of the few remaining drinks and food. They were down to snacks now—nuts and cookies—but they savored them like a feast. Tom opened his pack of cookies, took one for himself and gave the other to the dog. Alice gave the dog something, then a few more people.

The dog went from person to person with ludicrously grateful eyes and Tom laughed and said, “Well, at least the dog won’t starve.”

There was more laughter, not from their boat, but from upriver. It was the first time they’d had any indication the other boat was still behind them, a joyful laughter that Tom could easily imagine being a response to a joke from Chris.

Alice said, “That’s a relief.”

Jess nodded in agreement. “I was getting a little worried about them.”

Sandeep turned briefly to look at them all. “Joel’s not stupid—I know he can be a bit of an ass, but he’s not bad when you get to know him better. His dad gives him a really hard time, like nothing he does is ever good enough. That’s why he’s always pushing himself.”

It immediately made sense to Tom and he felt a small wave of sympathy for Joel, but Kate was apparently unconvinced and said, “I heard that too, and any other time I’d feel for him, but out here, it’s our lives on the line.”

Sandeep said, “And he knows that—he’s trying to look after everyone.”

Kate laughed bitterly and said, “Like he looked after Naomi and Freddie?” Her face immediately filled with horror and she turned to Jess and said, “Jess, I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean…”

“It’s okay,” said Jess, a calmness about her that Tom thought deceptive, a calmness that hinted how far she still had to go. But then she took him and everyone else by surprise. “Freddie could’ve stopped when he was feeling sick. Joel kept telling us what to do, but none of us had to listen to him. We should’ve all been more like Tom.”

To his shame, others nodded in agreement, but he knew it was untrue. Maybe some of them should have been more like him, but the one person who shouldn’t have was Tom himself.